From Garage Steps To ADA Ramps: Expert Advice On What Works, What To Avoid

Can Coatings Be Applied To Stairs, Ramps, Or Sloped Surfaces?

Slippery steps and steep ramps don’t have to be a daily gamble. We break down how professional coating systems transform high-traffic, high-risk surfaces into safer, more durable, and better-looking parts of your space—whether it’s a garage, a warehouse, or an outdoor entry. David Nanninga goes step by step through what bonds to wood and concrete, where coatings shine, and when aesthetics call for a different approach.

You’ll hear how we handle garage steps built from wood, MDF, OSB, and plywood so the finish matches or complements a new floor. We explore real-world examples, including a fire station with heavy duty stair traffic, and show how traction additives in topcoats deliver confident footing on ADA ramps and exterior walkways. We also get practical about visibility: high-contrast edges, safety striping, and designated walk paths that reduce missteps and organize busy spaces without relying on tape or mats that peel.

Prep is everything, so we explain why diamond grinding concrete makes coatings last, and how careful, hand-applied methods on wood protect risers, nosings, and verticals. We share realistic cure expectations—when you can step on coated surfaces and when to wait—and outline rare limitations like extremely steep slopes or aesthetic mismatches with stained finishes. If you’ve wondered whether stairs, ramps, or even walls can be coated, this conversation gives you a clear, confident roadmap.

Ready to see how coatings can add traction, clarity, and longevity to your space? Subscribe, share this episode with a friend who needs safer steps, and leave a review to tell us what surface you want us to tackle next.

To learn more about Mile High Coatings visit:
https://www.MileHighCoatings.com
Mile High Coatings
970-314-1023 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Welcome to the Mile High Coatings Podcast, where we elevate your spaces to a new peak in quality. Hosted by David Naniga, president of Mile High Coatings, this podcast explores how expert residential painting, concrete coatings, and epoxy flooring can transform garages, basements, patios, and commercial spaces across Colorado's front range. So grab your favorite beverage, sit back, and dive into the world of high-quality coatings.

SPEAKER_02 0:34

From steep driveways to stairwells, coatings aren't just for flat surfaces. Let's talk about how they perform on slopes and steps. Welcome back, everyone. I'm Julie Schwenzer, co-host and producer in the studio with David Naninga, president of Mile High Coatings. Thanks for joining us again, David. Hi. So we're excited to be back with you and ready to dig into this question. Can coatings be applied to stairs, ramps, or slope surfaces?

Materials, Bonding, And Garage Steps

Interior Stairs And Aesthetic Limits

Commercial Examples And Exterior Ramps

Safety Striping And Visibility

SPEAKER_01 1:04

Yes. Short answer, yes. Um how however there can be uh some limitations. And so um obviously happy to go, you know, kind of review those. So we do steps in nearly every garage floor application that we do. Um often steps are made of you know wood, MDF, some kind of composite, you know, type of um material. And the the the product that we use bonds wonderfully to to to wood and OSD, um, you know, MDF, plywood, whatever. And so we do steps all the time and people love it. I mean, I have my own steps done in my garage and never have an issue. I don't think we've ever had a a step failure or um or or or any issues related to steps. So specifically with garage steps, absolutely. Probably the trickiest part is when you're talking about a stairway in a house, maybe you know, from the first level down to a basement. Um those are tricky because you know if those are wood and if we're looking at a you know stained concrete application, you can't really do that on on steps. And so so so that would create a limitation for sure. I mean, of course, you could do a flake type of application on steps, but you know, aesthetically it's generally not uh desirable to to do that, you know, in and have a different, a totally different sort of application. I will give an example of some interior steps that we did. We just did a fire station for, and of course, you know, they have they have a bunch of steps going up to to a you know um like a mezzanine area. So of course that there were wood steps, you know, framed out in wood and everything. And we did those. Um, of course, concrete steps, we can do those. We do a lot of exterior concrete landings and steps and and then related to your question regarding slope and and ramps, uh, absolutely, wheelchair um, you know, ADA ramps um can be done. And, you know, of course we want to take safety into account there, and we often will put some traction uh additive, you know, in those coatings or whatever to, you know, especially outdoors to make sure that you know we don't have uh slip and fall issues. So and then then and then vertical applications, we do walls, short, tall, you know, whatever, uh, and and they they do just fine.

SPEAKER_02 3:35

And can coatings help improve visibility or contrast on steps?

SPEAKER_01 3:41

Yes, uh, absolutely. So, so we we've done a lot of safety striping, uh, you know, obviously commercial industrial applications. We've done floors where, you know, there's there's lines and there's there's uh you know sort of walkways designated, um, you know, if it's an industrial or you know, warehouse type of type of application um on the manufacturing, you know, oftentimes if there's forklift traffic or there's just other types of traffic, you know, carts and and whatever, you have, you know, the safety, safety stripe in. Um, but then again, even on a residential application, we've we've done different colors on steps. We've done stripes, you know, yellow, white, red, whatever color that the customer wants, you know, we can do. We can put those on the edges and everything to create, you know, I guess an enhance the safety uh aspect of those uh applications. So yeah, definitely that's a it's a good thing, and especially commercial, you know, outdoor commercial types of types of applications, you know, too. You know, that's that's a pretty important thing. Obviously, you've got handrails on the sides, but then you've got you know your safety striping on the edges of steps. And um, yeah, we can easily integrate those and um and and do that often.

SPEAKER_02 4:51

Okay, and another question for you, and this is great for clients to know, I think, what prep work is needed before coding a ramp or stairwell? And in other words, when do you need us to not touch that area before you start to work and after you start to work?

SPEAKER_01 5:06

For sure. So so on the concrete, um with respect to to prep with the application, we we would diamond grind the concrete uh to create a profile um and to promote adhesion uh you know of the coating, you know, to the substrate. Um if you're talking about just wood steps, um, you know, we clean it up, make sure the substrate is clean, you know, dirt-free, dust-free, and all that, and then and then we just you know coat it. And it's kind of like you know, you can imagine painting, you know, the steps. We we we we we you know do those types of applications by hand with brushes and rollers. And so um, you know, that type of stuff doesn't get sprayed on or anything like that. And as far as um, you know, keeping off of it, you know, more often than not, you know, assuming you have generally uh desirable weather, you know, decent weather outside, I mean, you know, the the conditions will allow you to walk on it, you know, in a few hours. You know, it could be, you know, four as little as three or four hours. Uh we always just tell people wait 24 just to err on the side of safety. You just never know. Um and so so in that case, you know, we'd put some safety tape, you know, do not walk wet paint type of type of type of application. But that that that's kind of the the the typical we try to keep people off of it for for at least a few hours.

SPEAKER_02 6:28

Yeah, 24 hours is actually not too bad. I think if people can resist in that area, not too long of a time. And last question for you are there any limitations or surfaces you recommend to clients to avoid?

SPEAKER_01 6:42

There's occasionally maybe some steep, you know, walkway or steep, maybe driveway applications um that we may may recommend avoiding. But generally speaking, you know, when when there's steps involved, um, you know, those have to follow a certain code. Uh, you know, torches and everything are all going to be level uh for the most part. So for the most part, I would say we don't really avoid too much. Um, I can't think of another specific example where we would say no, we definitely don't want to quote that because it's too slow or whatever.

SPEAKER_02 7:25

Okay. Well, thank you so much. This was really informative. We appreciate your time, and we'll catch you on the next podcast for more cody know-how.

SPEAKER_01 7:34

All right, awesome. Looking forward to it.

SPEAKER_00 7:39

Thanks for tuning in to the Mile High Coatings Podcast. Ready to give your space a fresh, durable finish? Visit MileHighCodings.com for a free price quote or call 970-314-1023. At Mile High Coatings, we're not just painting walls. We're setting a new peak in quality. Until next time, keep your standards high and your coatings higher.